Task 2

1. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
The 300 Spartans and 300
The 300 spartans is a 1962 film that consists of more than one
genre, the film is a hybrid of both historical epic and action genres
that are based from the battle of thermopylae. The film was
directed by Rudolph Mate who has also created other films in the
past such as D.O.A and When Worlds Collide. 300 is a 2006 film
that is also more than one genre, both action and fantasy. It
contains the same story of the spartans fighting the persians. The
director of the film 300 was Zack Snyder who also directed films
such as dawn of the dead. Since the directing of 300 it has allowed Zack to direct
many other big films such as Watchmen, Man of Steel and Justice League.
The film the 300 Spartans is considered a historical epic film as
its based on real and historical events that have happened
before in the past. The battle of thermopylae was in 480 bc
which was 2498 years ago. During the film real locations from
the war were also used in the production of the movie to create
a historical atmosphere that shows people where the war really
took place. All the attributes of the locations help the factors of
making the film as real as possible, this makes it fall under the
historical epic genre. The film is also an action genre as many
battles do occur in the film, many fighting scenes are used in
the film while the battle of thermopylae. This shows action in the film just like the
genre given. During the film the hero's are trying to stop the antagonist from
achieving their goal. Such as the persians wanting to invade greece.
However in the film 300 the genre was considered different at it
contains more of a fantasy view compared to The 300 Spartans.
300 is an action fantasy which people think could exist in another
dimension and could be real in another world. The producers
didn't want to hollywoodise the film as they copied what the
comic portrayed. The producers wanted to bring the comic to life
and make it surreal for the audience to watch. During the film,
some things in the fantasy world we are able to relate to, as
many of the characters are human compared to alien type
figures shown in the film. Action is also a big part of the film as
many fighting scenes occur in the film. The producers also
wanted all the action to be up close to engage the audience compared to the 300
Spartans were they used mostly long shots while the action was happening.

2. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
The main character of the film 300 Spartans is King Leonidas
who is played by Richard Egan. Egan has starred in other films
such as Love me tender (1956) and Gog (1954). Egan was
casted for the main character in the film as he was well known in
Hollywood who was admired by both men and women. As Egan
played the Hero in the movie, it creates more of an audience to
love him and his character more in the film industry. This showed
that the this actor fitted this role in the film.
Another character Themistocles of Athens​ was played by
Ralph Richardson. Themistocles was known of being a wise
character, he was the man known for bringing the greeks
together and convince them into helping fight against the
persians. Sir Ralph Richardson was well respected at the time
from his any other roles, this gave him the opportunity to be
given a good role in the movie The 300 Spartans, as he had
grey hair at the time this can symbolise wisdom which works
well with the given role of a wise character.
One big role played by Diane Baker was Ellas, who was a young woman
in love. Baker was a big hollywood name at the time as she starred in
other big films. Ellas was seen as being a much more innocent character
compared to other characters in the movie. The use of a love story was
incorporated so that young rebels at the time, were able to relate to the
movie. Society at the time of release was going through a period of a
hippy movement and so this was portrayed in the film. People were
strong believers of freedom, love and peace. In the 1960 people were
believers and fighters for love peace and freedom which grew popularity
by the hippie movement. During this period of time people were rebelling
and fighting for what they believed was right. The 300 spartans was released in
1962, this was a good time to release the film as it helped promote freedom and
democracy, agreeing with what society is saying t the time of the film being released.
Through the film of 300 they included actors who may have been well
known for their previous films. The main character who played King
Leonidas was Gerard Butler who was known for his role in Tomb Raider,
for his masculinity and aggressiveness. Butler wasn't very well known in
the film industry but however the film wanted to consist of british actors for
their accent, this was great for Butler as he was british, so the director
Jack Snyder though Butler would be perfect for the main role. Another
reason why they may have Casted Gerard Butler was that because he

3. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
wasn't well known at the time, he may not have needed to be paid as much
compared to other big actors. Also the crew needed to save money, as most of it
was spent on CGI.
Queen Gorgo in 300 was played by Lena Headey, whom is married
to king Leonidas. Headey is known for her attractive looks, this
suited the role of a queen who also seemed to be mature to fit the
role. As she is a good and capable actress it shows she is suitable
for the role of a queen. This can show a much more appropriate way
of portraying women of that time, compared to the 300 Spartans
were most women didn't get any screen time or lines during the film.
Other actors like dominique west was known for his role in chicago.
West ended up playing the role of Theron, he was a well respected
action who was known for being on screen. This also occurs for
David Wenham (Who played Dillos) and Michael fassbender (who
played stelios).
During the same time of the film The 300 Spartans in 1962 other
historical epic films came out. Films such as The Avenger and The
Fury of Achilles, both these films focused on similar points on
historical wars and events. This shows that the film The 300
Spartans was released at an appropriate time as other films similar
were released. This therefore showed us that Historical Epic films
were popular as the audience were enjoying this form of
entertainment at the time. However When the film 300 was released
in 2006 big films such as The Green Lantern, Harry Potter and
batman begins was released. All these films have something in
common which include them all having CGI. During the time of 300
being released many films had the same genre of fantasy action,
these were the trends at the time. 300 Influenced films and created
a fantasy movement which contained CGI.
The 300 Spartans had a budget of $1,350,000
this was a big budget for a film during the time
of the production of the film. This made the film
more expensive than other films produced at
the time. The reason why the budget was very
expensive was that the producers had most of
their shots in greece and on their land meaning
they would need to pay to use the land. They

4. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
also had to fly all the cast and the crew including their equipment over to greece,
also needing to pay the actors and cast was expensive as many of them were well
respected and famous actors at the time. The budget also included paying for all the
sets and costumes, as the time of the film was not during the spartan times it meant
they had to create all the costumes from scratch, this would have costed them a lot
of money. They also needed to create the sets from
the film, this also costed them a lot of money as most
of it was all created just for the film. Other small
payments included the props and catering for the cast
and crew. Some props were needed to be created
from scratch, such as, the spears and shields. The
catering was expensive as they needed to feed all
crew and cast, and considering there were over 300
spartans plus all other actors it would have costed
them a lot of money.
Included in the budget was the marketing, this was a big portion
of the budget as they created posters which needed to be
printed for promotion. They also created a trailer to be released
in cinemas before other films were played. As many other epic
historical films were released around the same time, 20th
century fox and the films production company needed to make
sure their film was distributed for many people to see and grab
their attention to see their film instead of other similar films. This
genre of film has made a lot of money in the past from previous
films, so if they input more into their film they expect to get a
higher revenue from the film. The 300 Spartans did end up
making a profit and had a gross revenue of $76,520,000
meaning the film ended up having a profit around $74 million dollars. The film made
so much money as it used things the audience wanted to see, such as, the famous
actors who are known for their big roles in other films. People also liked how they
used real locations where the events happened in the past to create the sense of
realism in the film. Another reason the film made such a big revenue in their time
was that the historical epic genre of films were very popular at the time and many
people enjoyed watching those films. However for example, if they released a horror
film during the time the film may have not been as popular and would have not
grossed as much as The 300 Spartans did.
300 Had a Budget of ​$65,000,000 which included paying for the actors, producers
and directors. These people included a big director Zack Snyder. As they wanted to
save money getting lot of cast members they decided to use CGI, this also used a lot

5. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
of their budget as its very expensive to use. The budget also included them paying
for Icestorm studio in Canada to film with a blue screen when using CGI. The whole
movie was shot in the studio except for one shot,
this meant they had to rent the studio for quite a
long time, this would have costed them quite a bit
of money. Another portion of the Budget was used
on marketing and promotion for the film. The
production team made a website and trailers to be
viewed on TV and in cinemas for people to view.
The trailer was released at international events,
such as, Comic-Con. However most of the money
was used on CGI. Having CGI, costed a lot of
money as they also needed to hire talented editor
who have worked in the CGI field before.
After the film being released, 300 had a gross
revenue of $456,100,000 worldwide, this means
the film made around $390 million dollars profit.
The revenue is most likely to be this high as they put a lot of money into advertising
the film to the public to get more people to go and see it when it released. The film
was also released in over 60 countries compared to the 300 Spartans which was
only released in 12 countries. Having the film being released in many countries
allowed more people to watch it, this allowed them to also make more money from
the film. The audience may have been very interested in seeing what a film would be
like with an entire film make from CGI, especially when CGI Was such a new
element of filming around the time of the release.
The 300 Spartans had to use a 35mm film reel, this was an
analogue camera, they used this camera instead of
producing digital images. During the time the filming and
editing crew would have needed other companies to help as
adding sound and changing the colours can take a very long
time, Because of this they hired other companies to edit the
sound and another company to fix the colours in scene.
When editing they would have used a Moviola as the
Steenbeck wasn't released until the 1980’s, these were the
first type of technologies to change editing and create it be more
more advanced compared to the simple cutting and pasting of
the film. The Moviola allowed the editors to look through a
viewfinder and see the film as you edit the footage. This was a
lot easier compared to holding the film up to the light. Years later

6. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
the Steenbeck was released, this was a more advanced way of editing as editors
were able to see their footage on monitors rather than looking through a viewfinder.
However when editing the sound they would have used a seperate sound mixer.
During the time of the film in 1962 the producers made sure that all of the technology
that was used was the best at the time to make the film as good as possible for the
audience.
However 300 had more of an advantage as they had a lot more advanced
technology given to them to create the perfect film Zack Snyder wanted. The sound
was all recorded then put onto a computer to be edited onto the footage they filmed,
this was also for the colour meaning they managed
to save money instead of having other companies
do it for them. The technologies used for the film
300 would have been the most up to date tech that
was available. This included 98% of the film being
CGI. Having the film contain over 400 scenes with
CGi makes the film near enough impossible to
create without the use of CGI and the technology
we have today. As the film was based on a comic it
shows that the use of CGI can really bring the
writer Frank Miller’s comics to life and not create a real life
Hollywood movie. 300 also used a 35mm film reel but digitised it
onto a computer, furthermore, the producers made sure they
upscaled the quality of the film to 2K for cinemas, this meant all
details will come up perfectly when captured. The film was mostly
filmed on a Blue screen with a 35mm film which would then be
edited onto the latest software on the computer, this would
have made it most efficient way of editing the footage that
was produced. For sound they used Sonic-DDP in the
IMAX version as they wanted their film to be the best
quality when aired in the cinema, the sound was very high
definition but also the best quality at the time.
The 300 spartans was distributed by 20th Century Fox,
however 300 was distributed via Warner Brothers. The 300
spartans was only released in the cinemas compared to 300
which was released in cinema and then 6 month later released
on blu ray, DVD which included special features and online for
streaming. This shows that through time more technology
became more available for the audience to consume the
movie. In 1962 the only available platform was a Cinema. This

7. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
also meant that people who wanted to watch the film were not able to do it in the
comfort of their own home. It was years later where exhibition technologies
advanced and allowed people to watch films via a VHS. At the time of release it gave
the audience an opportunity to go and watch the film in cinemas for the IMAX
experience And then 6 months later allowed people who never saw it in cinemas to
then go and watch it at the comfort of their own home as many times as they want.
As they released the film onto blu ray it allowed the audience to watch the film in the
best quality possible and also allow the viewers to access special features other
DVD’s don't include.
Synergy is the release of a brand across all different platforms of media, this can
include a movie becoming a book or a game. The 300 Spartans does not contain
any synergy, the two main reason for this are that it would have costed the company
a lot of money to create other platforms such as a book, they couldn't afford to do
this as they spend a lot of their budget on costumes and other props. Another reason
for their being no synergy was because there wasn't enough of a fanbase as there
weren't many ways to advertise the film to the public. Compared to advertising
nowadays, we are able to get more of an audience interested by trailers and posters.
This meant that if they created other types of media for the film the company could
have risked losing a lot of money. Furthermore with the film 300,
there was synergy before and after the release of the film. Firstly
before the film was released the comic novel by Frank Miller was
inspired by the real life story of the battle of thermopylae. After the
release of the film the company Warner Brothers decided to create a
video game for the PSP which was the newest console at the time.
The game 300: March to glory was very effective as it included
another side of the story the film neer shown, this made fans want to
get the game to see another story the film never showed them.The
game also mainly focused on the action and fighting. This was to
make it as enjoyable for the audience as much as possible.
During the 1960’s society strongly believed in things such as having peace, love,
freedom and religion. For example, romantic scenes were included with both Ellas
and Phylon to attract the audience who were looking for the themes of Love and
Dreams, this made the film more lighthearted compared to the other things
happening in society at the time. The second world war finished and the main two
countries both US and Russia are fighting across the world, this was the cold war.
The film relates to the cold war as the Americans are like the spartans and the
Russians are like the Persians. As people wanted peace and wanted to live
differently from how they were living gave the idea that the film should include this as

8. Units 25 & 26
Task 1
Benjamin Karrass
people can relate. The word ‘Freedom was consistently mentioned through the film
to appeal and reinforce the idea towards the audience watching.
Hippies became attracted to the film at the time as they were a large movement at
the time and believed in the themes such as fighting and rebelling against the state
to fight for what the believe in. The film followed the idea of rebelling as king leonidas
was rebelling against the power. This happened with the king approached the
councilman to warn all of the Greeks that they are going to need to fight the Persians
as they are preparing for battle. As it was a holiday during the time in Greece and
were not allowed to fight. This was when they rebelled and King Leonidas took him
and his 300 men out to battle and fight for what he believes and think is right.
300 created quite an uproar with the middle east, The Iranians were very angry with
the outcome of the film. After the war with Iraq in 2003, the war was mainly between
the United States and Iraq. The relationships between the two countries was difficult
and because of this the Iranians thought that the American Government funded the
film 300. The Iraq’s didnt like they way the Americans showed the Persians in the
film. This made the americans need to prepare for war as Persia became a part of
Iraq. People though the film was a form of propaganda to get the Americans to
support the US’ invasion.
The film 300 also has a similar message of The 300 spartans with wanting to show
peace, freedom and love. The film came across the message in a more appropriate
and engaging way compared to The 300 Spartans. In the film 300 they showed that
you have to fight and be aggressive for things such as freedom, peace and other
things you may believe in at the time. Just like the film in 1962 the media though that
the film and the fighting was another way of showing terrorism and showing an
aggressive tone towards it.
Through both films there are many differences and similarities with the categories
such as women presented in the films, Age, ethnic minorities, Social class, language
and Social acceptances. Firstly i'm going to talk about women and their power in
both films, i will then move onto their speaking roles and the use of male gaze in
both films.
In The 300 Spartans we can tell that women
don't have a lot of power compared to men as
we see them pouring tea while the men are
sitting on chairs. During one scene we see the
men sitting on chairs while women are sitting on
the floor, this shows they are lower than men

9. Units 25 & 26
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Benjamin Karrass
and don't have as much power as them too. One
woman is a queen so we can see that she does
have power but apart from her, there aren't many
women who have or show power in the film. As
women aren't allowed to fight them have to serve
drinks and food to the men who fight or who are
wealthy, such as, the king. One woman is also see
as being very weak as she becomes very ill and
tired after walking for two days, compared to the
man with her who then carries her as she is in
pain. Men are shown to be wearing armor where
Women are in white clothings to show purity upon
them.
300 also show signs of men being superior to women as no
women fight during the film. However the queen in the film 300 is a
lot more superior and has more power from the way she speaks.
The women in the film also wear white to show their purity like the
300 spartans. Another way the queen shows power is how she
fights back against a soldier and ends up killing someone, this
shows how women have gained more respect over the years since
the first film came out.
Furthermore moving onto speak role with women from both The
300 spartans and 300. Firstly in the film The 300 Spartans we see that the Queen is
one for the main woman characters when it comes to talking as she speaks to others
because of their power as the queen, the queen also tells the fighters the rules
before they go off to fight against the persians. However when women speak to men
they usually refer them to ‘sir’. Elas who is in a relationship with one of the main
characters may not of had a speaking role if she wasn't in a relationship. In the 300
we didn't see many women speak apart from the queen, when she did speak she
sent messages to other persians. The queen also has power to speak over men at
times, when other woman would never do this. During the film 300 we don't see any
other women speak apart from the queen, this shows that women didn't play a big
role in the film but this may be because of the time the film is based in, as during the
time women didn't have much respect as today's age.
The Male Gaze is used in the films to attract men to
watch the film as they want a large target audience.
Also the male gaze is also used when showing
women in a sexual way, Women dress up in not a

10. Units 25 & 26
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Benjamin Karrass
lot of clothing, this is also to impress the men in the film. Make up is also used to
impress and attract men, they also make the women dance in small amount of
clothing to fill the men’s needs, this shows that the male gaze can attract people to
watch the film as men like to see women with less clothing. Lastly In The 300
Spartans The king said ‘a woman's tongue is deadlier than a sword’ This is telling us
that a woman can easily hurt you with words more than a sword can. Furthermore in
the film 300 they also use features such as make up and dancing barely clothed to
attract men. In the film 300 there is a nude scene which consists of sex, this is
inappropriate but also links to the male gaze as it is showing men what they want to
see. Another scene includes girls kissing and this could also arouse men and be part
of the male gaze to attract men to keep on watching. Women can also be affected by
the male gaze as most of the men are topless and have muscles as thats what
women may want to see.
Moving onto age, Through both films age can be a big part as we don't see many
children in both films. Elders in The 300 Spartans are seen to be wiser and have
higher authority than others, just like the king
and queen. The elders also have high
importance in society as they are older and
know more than others. The elders don't go off
to fight as they are too wise. Many times the
elders speak in the film The 300 spartans they
usually speak from a historical point of view,
they also speak religiously in terms of the
gods, they used to do this in the past as they believed the gods are real just like any
other religion. They followed the ways of the gods so the elders would speak about
them to keep their ways. The youth has many young people such as women and
men, Also young dancers are shown for the male gaze to attract men. Young boys
are taught to fight in the future. This can show that many people start to train and
fight at a young age. Moving onto respect, People are well respected depending on
their age. People are respected differently depending on how old the people are,
elders are more likely to get more respect other than younger actors. People get
respect by being called survivors after the war as they survived and may have lost a
limb so people respect them for doing their work in the fight.
Furthermore moving onto 300, in the film 300 there is a similar age range, elders lso
get respect and have a higher authority other than other ages, both the King and the
Queen are seen as elders as the king's advisor is also seen as another elder. During
the film we can see that the elders are seen with a higher authority as they have
more knowledge than the younger generation and also if an elder has a son they
need to go on and fight to carry on the name of their family. However the younger

11. Units 25 & 26
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Benjamin Karrass
generation in the film are seen to not get a lot of respect during the film, an example
of this is that if a baby isn't seen as good enough to fight in a war they get thrown off
a ledge. This also means that young boys
are taught to fight at a young age. As part of
training the boy needs to go and survive in
the wild and come bad as a spartan to show
they are ready to fight for sparta. Younger
generation get it a lot harsher other than the
elders as they need to work for the spartans
before they can get respect from others. The respect people have during the movie
shows how the elders get it more than the younger generation. Both the King and
Queen also get a lot of respect for the people in sparta, the middle aged people also
do get quite a bit of respect from people as they are seen as fighters.
Ethnic minorities are very different in both films. Firstly, The 300 Spartans have a
majority of caucasians through the film as the film was based in greece. During the
time of the film in 1962 other non-caucasian people didn't have as much respect or
rights compared to the caucasian people. During the time black people were treated
differently, we can see this as no black people were shown in the film The 300
Spartans. During 1962 is was seen as it being unacceptable if white people were not
shown in the film. However the film would have been unrealistic if they had only
white people so the men applied make up to the persian characters to make they
seem darker.
300 has a mixture of both caucasian and non caucasian people. Both black and
asians are also shown in the film compared to The 300 Spartans. The film 300 has a
greater and correct representation on society and how people should all have rights.
During the time of the film being released in 2006 society has changed compared to
The 300 Spartans release in 1962, people now have more respect and rights. It now
doesn't matter what colour you are as society has changed. This gives a more
realistic representation of the film.
Social class in The 300 Spartans is shown
quite easily as we can tell what classes
people are in. Firstly Lower class, in the
film they are seen to be defenseless
without any importance. During the film
there are also slaves, this shows us what
it was like at the time if someone was
lower class and many didn't have any
money or respect. Villagers look scruffy

12. Units 25 & 26
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with ripped clothing, this shows us that they are lower class as they may not be able
to afford new clothing. A Villager also becomes a traitor during the film, this shows
that these people would do anything for money, it also shows a bad representation
for people who are lower class. Upper class seem to get a lot more respect from
others, this included having shows put on while people eat such as a show for the
King and Queen. Nobles are surrounded by food and women. Upper class also are
seen wearing new white clothing during the film to show purity and respect. Council
men are seen wearing robes to show they have money, elders are also politicians.
300 has both lower and upper class. Firstly, lower class is shown by the villagers and
persians, this includes what people are wearing and how they live. We don't see
villagers wearing all new clothing with big houses. some villagers clothing have rips
in them so it shows us that they may not be able to afford new clothing. During 300
there is also a traitor who is seen as a hunchback this again gives a bad image on
people who are lower class just like The
300 Spartans done. Upper class in 300 is
shown via royalty such as the king and
queen. The queen wears clean white
clothing to show that she's upper class
and has money to get new clothing.
People in upper class also have power to
speak and create speeches to people
before fighting. During the film the hunchback betrays his own country to get a
reward from the enemy which then makes his upper class, as he is given money
from the enemy and attention from people such as attractive women.
The 300 Spartans have very formal and respect for the people in power, for
example, when referring to the king or to someone in power they would call them
‘lord’ or ‘sir’. Language through the film mainly stays english as they want their
audience to understand what is being said at all time. Women were inferior, this also
included the queen. Not many people cared about them in the film as they didn't
really have a voice compared to the men. Through the film there are a range of
accents as we come across both greek and persians who have different accents. In
300 their language is very similar as 300 also includes a range of different accents
through the film. The king in 300 is scottish, this shows how they have a range of
different people throughout the film, The queen is also english. In 300 the mode of
language is clearly distinctive as each character has their own way of speaking.
Lastly Social acceptances, in The 300 Spartans
there was no sexual activity except for some
kissing with the couple in the relationship.

13. Units 25 & 26
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However in the film 300 they included scenes such as, leonidas and his wife having
sex. Another scene is were the queen and theron have sex, the scene is consensual
but we can see that the queen doesn't enjoy it or want to do it. Violence is used a lot
in both films, this is mainly because both of the films are about war and include
battles through the films. Firstly with The 300 spartans, the movie starts off with a
spartan spy getting whipped, whipping happens quite a couple times as it then
happens again when finding out someone has been a traitor. Many fights occur in
the film which end up with people dying. We see people get stabbed and speared
when fighting in battle. We also see blood after the battles when people are dead or
hurt. During fighting scenes towards the end we see the spartans start to lose the
battle as the immortals fire arrows at the spartans which then ends up killing all of
them. In 300 the violence is a bit more extreme as they have the equipment to make
it look more realistic. The killing shows more blood and also is a bit more extreme
killing as we see someone's head get chopped off during a fight. Other violence
happens like Leonidas throwing his knife into a giants eye which then leads him to
chipping its head off. We also see the spartans fight the persians on the side of the
mountain which lead to the spartans pushing the persians off the cliff. The end battle
is similar to The 300 Spartans as we see arrows shot towards the spartans instead
of spears. This scene is a bit more violent as we see it more close up, this includes
us seeing the arrows hit the spartans. At the end we then see King leonidas with
arrows in his chest.Lastly one other violent scene was where some spartans had to
fight some persians, this included someone's hand getting chopped off on camera.
The fight led to the spartans winning, the spartans then went and built a wall out of
the dead bodies.